Lazarus 237
by Khael06
Summary: The Story of a man and his families journey through an undead outbreak. Working on other chapters so bear with me. Anymore thoughts on the story so far? Thanks for the initial Review.
1. Chapter 1

**Infection**

"The agent is highly infectious for approximately 30 seconds in its aerosol form, but after that 30 second window the bacterio-virus or Lazarus 237 as we have dubbed it begins to degrade exponentially in its ability to infect a potential target."

"So doctor this agent as you call it was developed by using bacteria and splicing its DNA with a lab-created virus' RNA can do that to a normal human being?"

PowerPoint/Video presentation showing a human male in a time lapsed state of infection.

"Yes, Mr. Secretary, this was discovered quite by accident! We irradiated a small sample of the Neptunium and saw how Lazarus 237 reacted to the exposure. We injected it into a lab rat and within 12 hours the subject was dead. We next tried it on a chimpanzee and it had the same effect. Though in the act of injecting the chimp subject this occurred."

Video plays showing the chimpanzee breaking its bonds and causing the syringe to puncture the hand of a research assistant.

"Within 24 hours the subject died and then reanimated! It is really quite amazing sir!"

The conference room began to murmur with the sounds of discontent and wonder at the military applications of such a weapon. Dr. Leopold Dyer was very much proud of the new biological agent that he dubbed Lazarus 237. He knew that the application of this agent in a military scenario would have him set for life. Unfortunately the discovery came at the cost of one of his assistants, but that was the nature of scientific research in his mind, "No Risk, No Glory."

"Dr. we would like to see this agent tested more before we move on to any type of field operations." said Lt. Gen. Raymond George.

Leopold was surprised by this reaction from the military. He had mountains of tests and test data. The visible verifiable results of the infections power and they still were not willing to give him his just due after years of research.

"I know this is not what you wanted to hear Dr. but we still have no type of antivirus or antibiotic to fight this thing if it were to get into the general population, do we" the General asked?

The doctor knew the answer was no but he could not bring himself to say it.

"We have a few promising lines of treatment right now that we are testing to try to inoculate test subjects from the biological agent." Dr. Dyer said.

All this happened while the Secretary of Defense just watched in quiet contemplation. He finally had seen and heard enough from the doctor and his staff. Dr. Dyer knew that his only chance to get his future research funded was with the Secretary's approval.

"Dr. Dyer while I appreciate the time and effort you put into your work, which the results are truly amazing, we cannot further fund this research as it is too great a risk to national security and the world at large. I want all research to immediate stop and all evidence that this ever occurred destroyed within the hour," the Secretary ordered.

With those words Dr. Dyers world came crashing down, all his years of research had been thrown away as if it was used tissue. The gathered personnel began to exit the conference room leaving only the doctor and his assistance to gaze on in disbelief at how the presentation had gone so horribly wrong. The doctor's assistants Mark Bell, Lindsay Van Horn and Gerald Webber began to gather his things and load them into the van parked behind the conference building. The doctor and his assistants drove in silence to the lab located at the rear of the base to begin gathering their personal items.

"Don't worry guys I will write letters of recommendation for all of you so that you will be able to find other places of employment." He said.

"Doc we appreciate that but these boneheads have no idea how groundbreaking all this research is this could lead to cures, prolonged life, the possibilities are endless." Lindsay said.

As they drove around the corner that was right before the lab they saw military personnel trucks parked in front.

"This can't be right they haven't even given us time to get our things." Gerald said.

Then gunshots were heard and military personnel began to pour out of the lab. Some were bleeding while others were firing as they fell back from the onslaught of about 20 other soldiers that just engulfed them like a wave. The rest of the military personnel outside heard the commotion over the radio and had organized a firing line across the street from the lab. They were able to put down most of the men that showed signs of the infection. The doctor and his assistants knew what had happened, the military personnel did not know all the correct procedures to destroy the Lazarus 237 agent and some of them had been infected, but how had it gone from infection to reanimation so fast? There was something missing in the timeframe of infection to reanimation that had been tested and recorded in the lab, the doctor knew he had to get to the bottom of this and soon.

Seeing that the situation was only getting out of hand the doctor turned the van around and attempted to leave the base. Just as he was about to put the vehicle in drive he was hit by a military personnel carrier and was separated from consciousness.

It was Friday October 5th, 2007, the weekend before Columbus Day, many men would be going home for the long weekend or would be leaving for reassignment to another base and Lazarus 237 would be introduced to the rest of the world.


	2. Chapter 2

**Day One: Emergency Response**

The alarm goes off as I role out of bed at 5:45 am. I make sure to reset the alarm for my wife so that she is not late for work and our 12 year-old son is not late for school. I go through my usual routine of showering, shaving, and brushing my teeth. No need to do my hair since I shave my hair off every two weeks. I then dress for work and proceed to the kitchen to grab a bite for breakfast and to catch the early news. I turn the TV on to the local news reporter who is talking about an incident at a North Carolina military base that has public health officials worried about the spread of a possible new flu virus. I am interested in the broadcast but have to hurry to work so I run to my wife and kiss her goodbye then head to my sons room and kiss him and head out the door. It is 6:45 am in Deland, Florida. Winter (or what we Floridians call winter) is in the air and best of all its Friday. I start the truck and turn on the radio to hear more stories about the public health crisis in New England, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, and the Virginias.

"Damn it has spread that fast already guess the media got the super-bug they were always raving about" I thought to myself.

I proceed to drive on to work noticing nothing unusual along the way, though if I had paid a little closer attention I would have seen the extra police and emergency vehicles on the road. Pulling into the office parking lot I walk across the street and into the front lobby. The security guard James waves a greeting and I proceed to my office door. The building has nine floors with security locks on all the office sections. I punch in the code and proceed to my office, only to find everyone that is an early bird like me sitting in front of their computers streaming news feeds from around the world.

I stop at my co-worker Melanie's desk and ask her "What is the latest news?" The look she gives me makes the hairs on my arm stand on end. I walk around to see her screen and see a reporter standing behind a military barricade with soldiers manning stationary machine guns and various vehicles.

"Debra what can you tell viewers at home about the current situation in Savannah, Georgia?" the anchor asked.

"Well Andrew the military has started to evacuate as many people from the city as possible and has setup screening tents to check people for possible infection." She responded.

"Wait Debra why are they evacuating people if this is an infection, shouldn't they be quarantining the area and not letting people out?" he asked.

"Andrew all I can tell you is what I see happening. There have been multiple people being ….being …..O my god Wes lookout behind you, oh shit run!"

"Ahhh its got my leg ….ahhh its gourgglllee"

The camera falls over to show the camera man on his back with what looks like people chewing on his neck before the picture goes back to the anchor who looks wide eyed at the screen at a loss for words. He gathers himself then proceeds to read a message from The Secretary of Homeland Security.

"Citizens an unknown infection is rapidly spreading through the entire nation and is reaching pandemic levels throughout the world. The hardest hit area is the Eastern Seaboard from Georgia to Maine. Symptoms of infection range from high fevers to complete psychosis resulting in the random attacks on another human being. All citizens are to stay indoors and not let any person inside showing these symptoms that are now scrolling across your screen. The President and his staff have initiated Marshall Law for the entire Eastern Seaboard and have initiated a curfew for those areas not yet affected. Please be careful and be safe."

"Melanie I am going home right now I suggest you do the same. " I told her.

"What are you going to do?"

"I am going to grab my family and do as they say but if it gets too bad I am going to head North and West."

"Why north and west?"

"Because we are in the peninsula of Florida where the only evacuation routes are north and if the infection or whatever gets to us before we can get out we will be trapped with nowhere to go."

I grabbed my personal field gear from the office and headed to the house. I called my wife but could not get through so I texted her to stay home and lock all the doors until I got there. I went by Melanie's desk to let her know that if she needed a place to stay she could come hunker down with my family, but she wasn't there. I wrote here a quick note with my home and cell number and rushed to my truck. I started the truck and cut on the radio. The radio stations were relaying information about what to do per Homeland Security Instructions.

"Citizens are to remain indoors and lock all windows and doors and to not open them except for emergency personnel." the dj said.

As I raced home I knew I could use the hurricane shutters to seal the house off and we had plenty of supplies to last for at least three months. That should be enough time for order to be restored. I grabbed my field gear thinking it might come in handy and headed for the truck. I sat in the truck for a moment and thought about what I needed to do. My truck could hold a lot of supplies so I better grab them while I can. I drove to the closest Wal-Mart and started grabbing water, canned goods, and personal hygiene products on my first trip. That did not make as big of a dent into our account as I would have thought, so I grabbed another cart and made another round through the store grabbing any other items I thought we might need. As I pulled out of the parking lot the place was overrun with people trying to pickup last minute items before the curfew was enforced. I was at home within ten minutes. I pulled into the garage and saw that my wife's car was gone. I then checked my phone and saw that I had received a reply to my text but had not heard it in the noise of the store. I checked the message and saw the one word answer she had written in response…help!


	3. Chapter 3

A Day at the Office

The first thing I thought was to rush back out for my wife, but I knew I could not without grabbing a gun from the gun safe. I shut the garage door and unloaded all the supplies that I had gotten right there. I ran inside the house and grabbed my gun safe key and grabbed the 9mm and two extra clips and ran for the truck. I started it up and headed for my wife's office three miles away. I drove out of our neighborhood straight into chaos. There was a wreck at the stoplight and people were coming out of their homes to assist those hurt. I could not get around the wreck so I jumped out to see if I could help move things along so I could get to my wife. A woman and child were in the car thrashing about. They seemed to be stuck in their seatbelts so I grabbed my field knife and machete and went to cut the woman out. As I approached the driver's side window I spoke to the woman and she seemed to calm down or rather just stare at me with a hungry gaze. Then I noticed slumped in the passengers seat a man with his throat ripped out and then I saw the child with three fingers missing and a neck wound also. I started to back away as more people pushed forward pass me.

"Hey man use that knife and cut them out so we can help them."

"Something is wrong with them look at their faces." I said.

The guy just cursed me and called me pathetic as he went to open the door. It was his last mistake as a human being. The mother latched onto him the instant he opened the door. All you heard was the man's screaming and the tearing of his skin from his face down to his neck. The little boy followed the woman out and jumped on the next person. I immediately ran back to my truck and started it up to get out of the street. People were trying to help the two people being eaten but it was no use they were dead and the woman and child moved on to other people. Then I saw the man sit up in the car and crawl out. He then let out an inhuman scream and ran after the nearest person. I backed the truck up as far as I could and pulled onto the sidewalk and went around the wreck trying to dodge as many people as possible. Then my passenger side window was hit. It was the man that had tried to help the woman in the car and he was screaming and banging against the door. I floored the truck and drove through yards until I had cleared the wreck and was back on the street. I turned down a crossroad and made my way to downtown and my wife's building.

I stopped in the parking lot to gather myself and check my gun. I also brought my knife and machete. As I approached the ten-story building all that ran through my mind was the look of pure hunger on the faces of the woman and child and what they had done to those people. As I approached the door I saw that the security guard was not at his station. Then I looked around and saw the building was unusually quiet. This place is usually full of people waiting to be seen by their case managers therapists or counselors. The power in the building was still on so I decided to head up to the fifth floor and my wife's office. I went to the stairwell and slowly pulled it open. There was nothing lurking beyond the door so I started to ascend the stairs. I passed to the fifth floor door without incident. As I opened the door I had to quickly jump out of the way as a file cabinet came crashing down. That is when I heard the footsteps from five floors up and two floors down. I heard the screams and screeching of the monsters and knew I was fucked! I looked back at the barricade and started to climb through the space the cabinet had cleared out by falling. I jumped up and had most of my body through as the first hand grabbed my shoe as I crawled through. I kicked as hard as I could and fell into the hallway. Then I saw a hand appear through the hole I had just come through. I searched around for something to plug the hole and saw a trashcan sitting nearby and through it into the hole. It would not hold for long so I grabbed a desk slid it behind the barricade and threw more things on top of it until a new wall was built behind the trashcan which looked to be holding up. I sat down and again tried to steady myself.

I looked around and saw that the floor was a mess. Paper was all over the place as well as blood on the walls and the floor. I started towards my wife's office with my gun out. Her office was down the hall passed the elevators and to the right all the way at the end. I quickly ran down the hall and called out her name. Big mistake! I was tackled to the floor as an office that was opened had one of the monsters inside. It was so quick that the only thing that saved me was my field jacket. The thing tried to bite through the thick coat but could not though it hurt like hell. I had dropped my gun in the initial hit but was able to grab my knife and started stabbing it in every possible place I could but it had no affect on the thing it just kept biting. Since it was concentrating solely on my arm I was able to get my feet underneath it and launch it off of me back through the office doorway. I got up and pulled out my machete as it was struggling to get up and came straight down on its help with dull crack. The thing twitched a few times and stopped moving. I planted my boot on its head and pulled out the blade and whacked it a few more times just to be sure. I then saw in the corner why it had not come into the hallway before, it had been eating a person in the office. I then went around the desk to make sure it was not my wife and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it was not her. As callous as that sounds I did not care at the time I had to find my wife. Then I saw the person lying on the floor sit up. It looked at me and started to scream. Before it could all the way up I swung the machete and cute through the things head. It worked once so why not try it again. Wiping off the machete, I went into the hallway and started for my wife's office again. I grabbed my gun off the floor and flicked the safety off; I would not be surprised again. I made it to the office door and knocked. There was no response. I then raised the gun and called my wife's name.

"Ericka?"

After a five second wait I got a response.

"Aaron, is that you?"

"Yes it's me open up we have to get out of here."

"Dad!"

I heard some sliding and then the door lock click and there she was along with my son. We all hugged and kissed as I saw that she was not alone in the office. Seven of her co-workers were also in the office with her. Reba from he office assistant, Julia a case manager, Dorian a therapist, the other four I did not know.

"Aaron what is going on out there?"

"Ericka I don't know exactly but people are killing one another. I just had to kill two people but they weren't people anymore. They had wounds that should have killed then but they got back up and attacked me. I saw the same thing happen on the way here. "

"How did you get passed those things out there?"

I held up the machete, knife and gun.

"We need to go now before those things get passed the barricade I fixed."

"Fuck that man I am not going anywhere. We have been just fine right here so why risk going out?" one of her co-workers said.

"Look I don't care what you or anyone else does. I am getting my family out of this place and back home where we can holdout until this gets straightened out or where we can get supplies and leave." I said.

I looked at everyone while Ericka and Liam got their coats and prepared to leave.

"Well when you figure out how to get out of here let me know because all the stairwells are full of those things and the elevators are packed full too." Dorian said.

"We could go to the parking deck and walk down" Reba said.

"Yeah we could but we still have to use the stairwells or elevator to get to them" one of the other co-workers shouted.

"Keep your voice down they are attracted to noise" Ericka said glaring at him.

"Well we know the other stairwell is full maybe the commotion I caused had the majority of them run to this side of the building?"

"Well you go right ahead we are staying here and will wait for help to come" Dorian said.

Three others chimed in including Julia and two of the other unknown people. Reba and two others were willing to risk the run to the parking deck. I gave Ericka the machete as I pulled out the gun and made our way through the office to the other stairwell. We headed for the northeast corner of the building. We crept through the halls encountering nothing and no one. I approached the stairwell and slowly opened it and peered inside. This stairwell was a lot larger than the one on the Southwestern side of the building. It had a long hall that went straight to another door, which opened out into the parking deck. We started our way across the hallway making sure not to make a sound. As we got to the parking deck door we heard a crash from inside the main building and screams and screeches of the monsters echoing through the building. We took off out the door and started running down the exit ramp. The two other people with us broke for their cars. Reba ran with us because her car was on the third level. Our hearts were pounding as we made it to the third level and ran for her car she hit the automatic door locks and we got in. She threw the car into drive and started down the ramp. We exited the parking deck and stopped. We saw the taillights of the two other people driving off in the distance. There were a few of the creatures following them and a few near the front of the building.

"Ok Reba they have not seen us yet so pull up to the truck as fast as possible we will jump out and get in"

Reba nodded her head.

"Wait Reba what are you going to do once you drop us off" Ericka asked?

"Go home, find my family and hope they are ok then I don't know." she responded with a weak smile.

"Look Reba if you can't hold up in your house, grab as much stuff as you can and come to ours," I said.

"Thanks Aaron, and the same to you, now let's get to your truck."

Reba gunned her little civic and we shot across the parking lot too the front right behind my truck. I hit the automatic door locks and ran to the car. Three of the things came running at us. I pulled the gun up and shot seven times. My first shot winged him in the shoulder, and then I fired again and got a head shot. I fired at the second a female and put her down with two shots. The third guy fell over the other two so my first shot missed but my second caught him directly in the top of the head. By the time I was finished my wife and son were in the truck ready to go. I jumped in cranked it up and slammed it into reverse. Reba had taken off after she saw the last creature hit the ground. I pulled out of the building parking lot and headed home taking back roads.

While driving we hit multiple roadblocks where people and monsters (for lack of a better word) were running around. Fires were burning out of control and sirens were blaring in every direction. I turned on the radio to see if any new information was available. The DJ was repeating the information from earlier that had been issued by the Governor except that now we were under martial law. Then the DJ went off the script and began to take calls and report information that was coming to him over the radio waves.

"Guys let me tell ya this is some sick shit I am getting in over email and TV. Someone just sent me a two-minute video of someone getting attacked by a whole mob of people and then after they were dead 15 seconds later, the dude got up and attacked someone else. I don't know what to say folks but if this is not the end times I don't know what is. We got the dead walking around killin folks man just like those damn things from those monster movies like zombies and shit."

The radio went dead and the emergency broadcast system was on.

"The end times why do people always have to bring religion into everything that happens? Now that is all we need people are going to start jumping to insane conclusions based on what?"

"Aaron, people are just scared and rely on things that will make them feel safe."

"I know, I know… We need to hurry up and get home so we can secure it."

After taking the long way home we finally drove onto our street to hunker down for the times ahead.


	4. Chapter 4

Home Front

We finally pulled up to our garage I hit the button and drove in. All the bags were where I left them. I went into the house first and made sure it was clear before allowing my wife and son in. Once everything was inside we began securing the house. I grabbed the M4 and slung it over my shoulder as I went outside to pull the hurricane shutters across the windows. In hindsight I should have done this from the inside since they can be operated from there also. I had gotten all but one of the 1st floor windows when I heard a shriek come from the neighbor's backyard. I whipped the M4 around and pointed it in the direction of the sound. I stayed completely still trying not to give away my position. I heard fighting and then a gurgling sound as if someone was blowing into a glass of milk. I looked at the shutter behind me and saw it was a third of the way closed and decided to slam it home and lock it. I saw movement from inside the window and there was my wife standing there mouthing to me about the sound from next door. I shrugged my shoulders and motioned that I was going to close the shutter and that she should lock it. She nodded she understood and I counted 1..2..3…I rammed the shutter into place and just as I did that four different screeches came from next door. They attempted to run through the wooden fence but bounced off. I took off for the backdoor and tried to open it but it was locked. I turned around as the first of the four climbed over the fence. I banged and shouted for them to come open the door, then got down on one knee as the zombie closed the 35 feet from the fence to the house. I had seven in the magazine and one round in the chamber. I took my time and aimed for the area right below the neck. One shot and the things head exploded, guess spray pattern from eight foot away is bigger than I thought, I never shot anything that close with this gun before. By that time the other three (one of which was my next door neighbor) were over the fence and charging. Thankfully they were staggered one behind the other so I aimed for the middle and got the first two in line, which tripped up the third. My neighbor Mr. Jeffries was twitching on the ground the other two were getting up. I walked closer and finished them both off with a shot to the head each. I went back to the door and saw my wife with the rifle ready. I walked up to her shaking my head. We hugged and as she went in, I pulled the shutter to the backdoor across and locked it.

It has been four days since the infection started. The news reports were growing more grim by the day. The entire eastern seaboard was in red with small pockets of yellow indicating where military bases or the like were still holding on. The Florida Peninsula was almost entirely overrun. The only places that were still secure were the nuclear power plant, which the National Guard had moved to and the military bases located in Key West and Cocoa Beach. The national news had a map showing where the infection had spread. The U.S. had various areas of color on it green meaning the areas were secure, blue meant that they were reported outbreaks but had been contained, yellow meaning that active resistance was underway and red meaning an area was lost. Florida for the most part was in red, but the entire Northeast had been lost. The rest of the nation had been able to form some type of defensive line but as the days rolled by the line kept falling farther and farther west.

"Aaron maybe we should leave and head to one of the safe havens the military and police have set up."

"Like where? They haven't given out any information on where these safe locations might be. If they had told us from the beginning what was going on maybe we could have made gotten out in time. Plus we would have to drive through a sea of red before we got to any place that was safe. "

"Hey Dad, Mom, the news reporter is giving out new information."

The channel five news team had been on the air nonstop since this all began. They had field reporters on seen initially but they had all perished in the ensuing chaos.

"This is Brandon Webber from the channel five news desk. The military here in central Florida has been completely over run in several places. The power plant which was being held has just been lost here is footage from that battle."

"Are we recording…Ok Brandon we have just been informed by the military commander Colonel Harold Ramsey that there is a large number of the undead coming this way so we moved up onto a building that allows us to see over the wall and…and… we are not going to make it. There are too many."

The camera pans out to look at the entrance to the facility and all that can be seen is a river of shambling bodies coming toward the place. Then the reporter speaks.

"To everyone, all our viewers it has been a privilege to bring you the news for the pass eight years. I hope you all survive this and tell my family I love them and I will see them on the other side."

He then pulls out a gun and the screen goes black.

That was the last broadcast we got from the plant which was sent 15 minutes ago. The plant is automated but if a technician is not there to reset the system every 48 hours then it shuts itself down as a precautionary measure. So we have maybe two days of power left. We will broadcast for the next 24 hours then we will be signing off. We will be right back after this brief break.

The screen then changes to the scrolling list of safe havens. Havens that have been lost were in red, all but two were in red out of 35.

"Ericka, try your mom again and I will try to get in contact with my mom and sisters."

"Ok but where are we going to go?"

"Only thing I can think to do is try to make it to one of the other areas that has not fallen to the zombies. Maybe there we can holdout and make our way west to one of the states that is not as overrun. Or we can stay here and wait it out. We are secure in our house they can't get in plus we have plenty of supplies. " But just in case, Liam start moving our supplies to the truck, I will be there in a moment to help you put the canopy on the truckbed. "

We went about our tasks of calling family members and gathering our things. We took our time knowing we had close to 48 hours before we lost all power. Since there were not as many people around to use the cell lines or the internet I called all my family by cell and still got no answers. I went to the computer room and switched it on to see if I could Skype them but none of them were online. As I was about to shutdown the desktop, a video call came in. I clicked the answer button and the face of a 12 year-old girl flashed on the screen.

"Liam, please you have to come they got in our house and got my mom and dad. I don't know what to do", she cried hysterically!

"Michelle, honey calm down its Mr. Michaels. Where are you at in the house?"

"I am in my room. I locked the door and pulled the bed and dresser in front of it. I know they are going to get through they keep banging at the door."

"Michelle I will be there in a second, can you get out of your window at all?"

"Yes sir it drops down to the backyard. I can climb down from it to the garage roof and to the yard."

"Good I will be there in a moment get to your window and when you see me step through your window into your backyard and we will go."

"Ok. Please hurry!"

"Aaron, what's going on I heard someone crying."

"It's the Walker's they got in their house and Michelle is trapped in her room."

"Oh no, that poor girl. What are you going to do?"

"I have to try and get her. Let me grabbed the M4 and the one of the 9mms. You get Liam and finish packing the car. Take the laptop and all our hurricane supplies and whatever else you can thick of and pile it in the truck. I am going to try and do this as fast as possible."

I hurried to the gun safe and loaded all the extra ammunition in the truck bed and threw the canopy on top and secured it. Ericka checked the backyard from upstairs before we opened the door and pulled back the hurricane shutter. There was a slight scratching of metal but it did not attract any unwanted attention. I holstered the 9mm sheathed the machete and held the M4 in my hands as I crept out the backdoor to the fence. The Walker's place is two streets behind ours so I had to cut through some yards as I made my way there. I looked south towards the city and saw smoke and fires burning. I then looked closer and saw that all the fires were not just downtown some were actually in the neighborhood and seemed to be burning towards us. Realizing this, I knew we would have to leave the safety of our house.

I crept through the alley separating my house from the next. There were a few wanderers but they were far enough away that I could sneak pass them easily. I came to the six-foot fence of the first home. I looked through the small slits in the wooden fencing and saw no zombies so I crept over. The home looked to have been broken into. There was blood on the doorframe and porch. I kept my eye on the door as I went around the side of the house. After I was sure there was nothing coming out the door I squatted down and turned the corner and almost hit the back of a zombie just standing there. It was missing an arm and was very decomposed. I took out my machete and came down as hard as I could on its skull three times. It died for the last time without a sound. I wiped the blade on the things rags and continued to the front of the house. I looked down the street and saw not a single zombie in either direction. After a few tense seconds of debating on when to go I darted across the road again and into the next yard. I wasted no time here and continued through the next alley. The next street was as clear as the first so I stood on the side of the house and looked at the Walker's home. The door to the house was hanging open. I looked both ways and walked down the road two houses to the left then crossed. I worked my way through the two yards until I could see the backyard and the garage. I looked for her window and spotted her peeking out of the corner behind the curtains. I waved for her to come out. She slid her window open and jumped the few feet to the garage roof with her backpack and bat. As she made her way across the door to her room collapsed and in came 15 or so zombies. They looked around confused for a moment until one of them looked out of the window and shrieked.

"Move it run Michelle!"

The one that shrieked had been her mom she had half the skin on her face eaten away. They began to spill out of the room and cross the roof of the garage. We ran for the front of the house and burst through the gate. As we ran into the street five of the things came out of the yard I had been in earlier and started shambling after us. The ones from her house were filing out of the house so we started down the road to the corner and then headed left towards my street as we ran more poured out of the surrounding houses. As we came to the alley behind my house I pulled her down it. I counted homes until we came to ours.

"Michelle get over the fence now."

She scrambled up the wall slipping a few times as I pulled out the shotgun. I waited to make sure she was over before scrambling over myself. We made a dash to the backdoor and started banging. I pulled out the shotgun again as the first of the zombies started falling over the fence. The distance was a lot closer than the sides. There was only 16 feet. I started unleashing shot after shot into the crowd, killing some winging others but there were far too many to stop with the shotgun. Then the fence began to cave in. I heard the unlocking of the shutters and the as Liam and Ericka pulled Michelle in. I fell back firing the 9mm and slammed the shutter closed and locked it. There was a bunch of pounding and shrieking as the horde of zombies began to bang on the shutter. The shutter began to groan and creak but for how long I did not know.

"Michelle, honey, come have a seat."

"Better do what she says Michelle mom won't take no for an answer."

Ericka began to look her over as the young girl sat there in shock. She was too out of it to cry or even make a sound. She had just lost her mom and dad and as far as we knew she had no other living family left.

"After I see to her tell me what happened."

I nodded and got up off the floor and went to the bathroom and threw up the oatmeal I had eaten for lunch. I looked in the mirror knowing that we really needed to get out of here and today was as good a day as any.


	5. Chapter 5

**Infection Ch.4**

**Headed North**

We waited until the banging and shrieking ended before we looked outside from the second floor into the backyard, it was packed full of zombies. Ericka was tending to Michelle while Liam and I continued to load the truck. After we had placed the last of the food in the truck bed, we went inside to decide where we would go and to also find out what happened at the Walker house. Before Michelle could begin telling us Ericka pulled me to the side and into the dining room.

"Aaron, do you think it is a good idea to leave? We have everything we need right here."

"We don't have a choice while was going to get Michelle I saw fires burning in the neighborhood and they seemed to be headed this way. We have to leave but I don't have any idea where we are going. We have to decide fast though" I said exasperated.

"Alright lets cut on the TV and see what bases are not overrun and head to one of them. We may be able to make it there but we better have a backup plan just in case", she replied.

I nodded my head and walked with my wife to the living room where Liam and Michelle were sitting. Michelle was a short 12-year-old girl with fire engine red hair and emerald green eyes. It contrasted with the tanned skin she had but I am no geneticist so hey! She was shorter than Liam by quite a few inches but Liam was already 5' 9' just two inches shorter than I am. Ericka cut the TV on and we listened as the reporter red the latest updates.

"Everyone it is as we have feared. The West coast of the United States has also been overrun. The states of California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico…I can't read this Jennifer its too much I can't", the anchor breaks down on camera for a full three minutes before gathering himself and looking into the camera. If you are still alive we have a list of safe havens that are still standing. In Florida there is the Pensacola Naval Air Station, Colorado…Norad, Texas… Fort Hood, Michigan…Selfridge. That is all we have people if you can get to one of these places do so if not I am sorry.

With that the list of safe zones scrolled done the screen and the anchor walked offset.

"Well looks like it is decided for us then PNAS it is. Lets finish loading the truck with what ever we may need. I have to go to the attic and grab something. I stepped into the attic and grabbed my son's birthday present. While up there I looked around for anything that I may want to take with me but found nothing that seemed practical to take. We had all my son's crafts since preschool boxed away. Along with scrapbooks of all our vacations as a family, there were many things that I would have taken but did not make sense. Then I felt a hand on my leg, it was Liam.

"Its ok dad we will be back when this is all over we will come home again."

I looked at him and smiled, I had raised a wonderful young man.

"Well since you are standing here happy early birthday", I said handing him the rifle bag.

"No way dad you didn't."

"If you don't want it I will take it especially now."

He smiled at me and pulled out the brand new R1 Rifle. It had three magazines and three boxes of ammunition.

"I know you have wanted one and so here it is. I topped off the magazines and bought you your very on cleaning kit."

"Thanks Dad!"

"Well we better go we have a long ride ahead of us plus I know your mother is ready."

I smiled and clapped him on the back and we headed down to the garage. Ericka and Michelle were already sitting in the truck. Ericka had the 9mm with extra ammunition in her lap while Ericka had her bat ready. Damn we still haven't gotten the story of what happened to her parents, but that can wait. I check to make sure we have all the supplies we can carry loaded up. I jump into the driver's seat and kiss my wife.

"Ok everyone when I hit the garage door we may get jumped so be prepared but don't shoot out our windows. We ready?"

They all nodded and I pushed the garage door opener. I seriously underestimated how many zombies were behind the door. Before the door was all the way up they were crawling under. They began to pound on the windows and door. We all started screaming and hollering until they garage door was up. After it made it up the track

Ericka shouted, "HIT IT!"

The truck tires started spinning and I backed out over at least eight zombies. I turned towards the North because all the fires were burning to the South and were getting closer. The streets were relatively clear as I threw the truck in drive and headed towards Ocala.

We encountered numerous roadblocks as we headed north through DeLeon Springs and the surrounding area. I found ways around the wrecks but it was heartbreaking to see the devastation that this plague had caused. We passed many cars that had dead occupants or undead occupants that would beat on the windows or thrash in their seats as we passed by. The hardest part was passing a preschool that had all the children wandering around in its enclosed area. Some of them were missing limbs while others were missing pieces of flesh. When they noticed our truck passing by they all broke out in a sprint from the gate with the same ear-piercing shriek. I sped up putting distance between the school and us. We came to a four way stop. To our right was the town of Palatka, to our left was farmland, and straight ahead was the Ocala National Forest and after that Silver springs and Interstate 75.

"What do you guys think we have been making pretty good time do you want to stop and try to top off the tank here and look for supplies or continue on", I asked them?

"Aaron, I think it is best that we continue on to Silver Springs. I know that getting extra gas from a pump would be best but lets get a little farther before we have to stop", Ericka said.

I looked to the two kids and they nodded in agreement with Ericka, which was good because from the woods surrounding the four-way stop came zombies by the tens. They were on us so fast that I was barely able to begin to move forward from the weight of them pushing on the truck. They began to rock the truck a little before I finally threw it in four wheel drive and got enough momentum going to get us out of there. We shot down the road headed into the Ocala National Forest.

We pulled into one of the camping areas to stop for the night. It took us a lot longer than anticipated to get through the smaller towns between Deland and the forest. I put the truck in park and stepped out with the M4 to refuel the truck. Ericka came around the other side with the 9mm to help keep watch as I filled the tank.

"How are you doing", I asked trying to gauge her emotional state?

""Well seeing that we are still alive I am doing ok but this is…becoming a little too much for me right now. Aaron those little babies…some of them were not even five years old. What and who could have done something like this" she asked pleadingly?

"Hell if I know, hell if I know. Those children did a number on me too. I just can't fathom someone making anything that could do this to people. Human beings are bloodthirsty enough without the added bonus of whatever infection that is causing this. All we can do now is survive for Liam and Michelle and find a safer place for us."

We sat there looking at one another until the can emptied. We hugged and shared a quick kiss and got back into the truck. The two kids were sleeping uneasily in the back with blankets pulled up around them. I took the first watch while my wife rested. Luckily we had no other disturbances that night and were able to get a decent amount of sleep before starting out again the next morning. The city of silver springs was one of the most horrific experiences of our life.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 5**

**Other Survivors**

The morning started off too good for the events that were going on. We slept well, made it out of the forest in one piece and had encountered few wrecks along the final stretch of highway leading into Silver Springs. Then we hit a large intersection that lead into the heart of the tourist section of the city. There were water parks on either side of the street with huge slides. The problem was that there were multiple wrecks and some of those wrecks had taken out some of those huge slides and caused them to crash into the street. There was no way around except for another road a mile back. I turned us around and headed for the other road. We took the left turn and drove into the business industrial part of the city. We were making good time but then we ran over a piece of wreckage in the road and got a flat tire.

"Damn it! Why of all the times to go flat does it have to be now", I cursed. We better make this quick guys. Liam keep your eyes open with your mom ok while I change the tire."

I went through the whole process of unlocking the tire winding it down then loosening the tire bolts before pulling off the flat. Things were going well until from a side street about a half a mile down the road one zombie came wandering around the corner. It stopped and looked at us then let out a shriek and came charging. Liam took two shots and the thing was down. Then we heard the chorus of numerous shrieks and groans coming from the same direction as the downed zombie. I looked to Ericka and she was already out of the truck carrying my M4 and a duffel bag. I grabbed the bag and shotgun from her and hurried Michelle and Liam in front of me and we ran for our lives down the road. We were weaving in and out of the numerous wrecks. We ran as fast as we could with the two kids but the zombies were gaining on us fast. I saw an alley up ahead and we ducked down it. Two zombies jumped out at us tackling Ericka to the ground. Luckily the momentum of her running and them both hitting her carried one zombie into the other knocking them clear. I raised the shotgun and took two shots killing both. I grabbed my wife and helped her up as we continued running. We came to the end of the alley and looked left and right. Liam turned around and took a few shots at the leading zombies killing none but caused those that were in front to fall slowing the progress of the others.

"There look a Sam's Club" Michelle shouted.

Not having any other ideas we all rushed for the store. We had to hop a chain-linked fence and run across a parking lot before we got to the door. As we got closer zombies that were hidden behind buildings tried to cut us off. We reached the door before the zombies. Ericka tried the door but it would not budge. I began killing the first zombies that came close. Liam started taking out the ones that had started climbing over the fence. I ran out of shells for the M4 and pulled out the machete from the duffel bag. Ericka started shooting with the 9mm and then it clicked empty just as Liam's rifle clicked empty. Michelle had her bat in hand as the first of the zombies came barreling up the to us. I kicked it in its chest throwing it off balance and followed up with a downward slash that sunk the blade deep into its skull where it would remain. I started using the end of the gun as a club for the others that were coming. I had knocked two down that way but more were coming. Then the warehouse door clicked open.

"Hurry in this way", a voice shouted.

We quickly ran into the warehouse and the door was slammed shut and locked with three latches.

We sat down and caught our breath as we thanked our saviors.

"Welcome to the Silver Springs Sam's Club. My name is Christopher, this is Wade, David, Glenda, and Maria."

"My names Aaron and this is my wife Ericka, my son Liam, and our neighbor Michelle. Thank you for saving our asses out there. I had no idea what we were going to do", I said this shaking his hand as I introduced us.

"The entire warehouse is secured we blocked off all the doors windows and moved cleared the place of all the infected that were here. There were more of us but they were taken by the infection and now it is just us", Christopher explained.

"Where are you guys from", Maria asked?

"We are from DeLand. We were holed up in our house but had to leave do to fire. We are headed to the Naval Air station in Pensacola or rather we were before we got a flat tire and had to stop to change it" Ericka said.

"Well for the time being you guys are welcome to crash here but I am not sure if you will be able to get back to your vehicle with all of them out there", Glenda said.

I thanked them and slid the duffel bag around so I could open it and found it had extra shells and magazines for the guns as well as food and water for us. I looked at Ericka and she smiled back and flashed her Girl Scout sign. I guess they were as well prepared as the Boy Scouts. I quickly reloaded the shotgun magazine and tossed Liam and Ericka one as well. I motioned towards the food and water and they all grabbed a bottle and some granola bars.

"Find anything useful in this place", I asked?

"Actually we have food loads of things some useful others not. Since this is a Sam's Club it is has loads of supplies, it's just that we are stuck here with no way out", Glenda commented.

"How did you guys end up here in the first place", Ericka asked?

"Well we all work here. David, Maria, and Glenda work the night shift while myself and Wade are on the morning shift. I guess just like you guys we were hearing all the stories of the infection spreading through state after state. I figured they would get it under control like they always did so I never took the reports seriously though I can't speak for the others. Besides this is my only job to provide for my family so I had to keep coming in. You know gotta pay the bills. Well as we were coming in to relieve the night crew we saw one of our semi's hauling all ass down the street. It slammed into a parked car and jackknifed in the road before barreling into the building a little farther down the road passed the store. We all ran out to see what was wrong but got no farther than the fence when we saw them running from the same direction as the truck had come from. People that had come out of their businesses to see what was going on were set on immediately. It was the sickest thing I have ever seen. Folks were being literally torn apart while they were still alive and eaten. I watched this for what seemed like ages before I began running back to the warehouse. We all hurried in and shut the door and have basically been here ever since. Originally there were 22 of us but some people could not take it and well you know. Others went for help and have not been seen since", Christopher ended holding his head down.

"How about you", he asked?

I went through our story from the beginning to end with Ericka and Liam adding in their story of the office building and their frantic running and fighting to get away from the undead.

"Damn that is some story, Ericka you actually killed one with a letter opener", Wade chimed in impressed?

"Of course it had Liam pinned down and I had to get it off him so I stabbed it in the eye and pushed it all the way in as far as I could and it worked."

We chit-chatted for a bit more then started wandering around the store grabbing food to eat. Power to the store was still on but we did not know how long that would last. We also had to find a way to get our truck and supplies. It was 2:00 pm of the first day of three weeks we would spend in Silver Springs.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 6**

**Truck Stop**

We walked around the store making sure all the exits especially the automotive bays were secured and locked. This had been our routine for the pass six weeks, checking to make sure no places had been compromised. Wade had informed us that a National Guard convoy was supposed to come through and pick them up but they never came as planned. Though we did see quite a few camouflage covered zeds running and stumbling around. Ericka had been worried about the zombies that were in our town would be headed this way because of the fires. But the zombie traffic has not increased significantly since our stay here. We were for all we know on our own. We had made one try for the truck but that almost ended in catastrophe. Wade, Maria and I went out one of the stores side doors and made it within sight of the truck but had to turn around when a zombie trapped under a car grabbed Wade's leg and he shot it on reflex. This emptied the neighboring alleys and buildings of all the zombies so we had to hoof it back to the store shooting the entire time. Plus we used up a lot of our ammo in the process.

Besides our one try at getting the truck back, we had made ourselves at home in the store. The huge space and wealth of supplies was what we needed. We made sure to eat as much of the perishable items as possible before they went bad. We also setup beds for ourselves and looked all around for all the useful items in the store. The best thing we had done was setup several computers desktops first. We saved the laptops for later and just charged their batteries for if and when the power went out. We were able to get onto the stores Internet network and make contact with other survivors in the state and world at large. We found that the entire world had been overrun by the plague. The United States as well as most of the world still had pockets of humanity still holding on while some areas were totally wiped out. There were message boards up that other survivors had started so we were able to find out that the naval base in Pensacola was still there.

"Man we have to get the truck back", I said after reading the message board updates.

Ericka looked at me with both confusion and slight bit of anger. "Aaron, what is with you and that truck? Yes we still have some supplies in it but we have plenty right where we are. It does not make any sense to run out there just to get the things we have in the truck when we have plenty here?"

"I know, I know, but if it were just that I would not even think about it. The other thing is that we left the rest of our ammunition in the truck and in case we need a quick get away that truck could fit all of us plus some supplies."

Ericka looked at me knowing that I was right about the truck but not really wanting to risk our lives to get it back. "Alright I see what you mean but the last time you went out there you almost did not make it back. How about we use a distraction this time instead of the cover of night to get the truck?"

I nodded my head and found the others to tell them of what I wanted to do.

Almost immediately they groaned saying that it was not a good idea.

"Why in the hell would we go back out there again after what happened the last time? You and Wade almost did not make it back. Dude you are nuts. No way in hell am I going back out there for a damn truck. Forget it", David commented.

Wade shook his head as well. One time was enough for him. Glenda then said she agreed with David, but Maria and Christopher volunteered using Maria's car as a distraction so that I could make the mile or so run to the car and bring it back.

"You will need some one to go with you Aaron", Maria said.

"I will go dad, I can watch your back as you get the truck ready to move" Liam chimed in.

I looked at him and smiled. He was just soldiering along through all this like it was nothing but I knew better. Plus to have him in harm's way for no reason would be too much of a distraction.

"No Liam your mom and I decided that only one of us should go and that will be me. Though I will need you to setup on the roof with the rifle and pick off any stranglers that don't chase after Maria's car" I smiled as I patted his shoulder.

"Oh well hell. You can't go out there by yourself Aaron. I will come with you again but this time you go first" Wade added exasperated. I also have a one condition is we are going to do this."

"And what is that Wade" Maria quipped.

"We go by here on the way back. It's just on the border of Ocala and Silver Springs. We could use all the gear there to better protect ourselves and plus I am sick of not having a gun of my own."

"Hey guys we can use these Walkie-Talkies to keep in contact. The store management used them all the time. They have a range of about ten miles so these should be perfect. They are not that heavy."

"Thanks Christopher. I guess we will do this in 30 minutes. The truck tire needs to be tightened a little more so hopefully that will not take too long. I have the keys in my pocket so we should be good to go. Let me just grab a magazine for the shotgun and we should be good."

I walked over to the duffel bag and pulled out the last magazine of shells we had available. This was going to be an all or nothing trip. We could not fail in getting the truck this time or we might not ever get another chance. After grabbing the magazines I walked back to the group and heard them discussing a route to Ocala that would bring us to a gun shop that had all manner of weapons and ammunition.

"Once we get the truck we should be able to get there and hopefully grab a bunch of supplies and head back here to unload it all" Wade explained. "If we head down East Silver Springs Boulevard, which I hope is clear enough, then take Hwy 27 North to NW 8th Street East that should get us there. There are some smaller side streets that may get us there quicker but I only want to us those if necessary. We don't need to get jammed up out there."

Thirty minutes crawled by and then we sent Maria and Christopher out to her car. They made it without too much trouble. The one zombie that was closest was easily dealt with and they zoomed passed the stores gas station and were off to the races with zombies in tow. Wade and I waited three minutes before we headed out into the parking lot and side street that lead to the road the truck had been left on. It was clear sailing all the way up the street. We took our time darting from car to car checking each opened door and car. When we finally exited the side street we saw about three zombies milling about the road by the truck. We carefully approached the zombies. I counted to three and we jumped out and with three quick shots had them all down.

We did not waste anytime I unlocked the truck for Wade so he could get the extra ammo out for us then I started on the tire. I tightened the lug nuts as fast as I could. I had gotten to the last one and then we heard the sound of crashing from above us. The zombies were pouring out of the top three floors of the building across the street. The mostly fell to the deaths but once the first eight to ten hit the ground the rest that fell began to get up and drag themselves towards us. Wade started taking the ones that could still walk out as I finished with the tire. I then jumped in the drivers seat and prayed the truck would start. As the thing roared to life I grinned and floored almost pitching Wade out of the passenger side window. I felt a little lurch and the back tire jump as we sped off down the street. I then realized that I had left the jack under the truck but o well we were safe and on our way to Ocala for our next stop.

**I know this chapter was kind of slow but the next one will have more action and you guys will see some character development for the crew also. Also sorry it took so long, having a sick child throws your schedule out of whack. Thanks for all the reviews also guys.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7**

**Gun Depot**

The way to the gun store was very slow going. We radioed back to everyone that we had made it safely to the truck and were headed to the store. We were told that Maria and Christopher had made it back safely and had pulled their cars into the car bays in the automotive area. We let them know that we would make this trip as fast as possible then be right back to the store. It was pretty slow going. The main road from Silver Springs to Ocala was littered with abandoned cars and wrecks. Also the occasional group of zombies would give chase after us but they were not really a problem. We were on the lookout for any signs of life. We saw the occasional scavenging animal but nothing that signaled that people were still alive in the area. As I drove through the cities I could not believe what I was seeing. There were bodies all over the place. Some with bullet holes to the head others that were just dead. There were fires burning in the distance but none seemed to be headed towards the Sam's. We arrived at the gun store and found it to be relatively unscathed. We both looked around the area and saw no zombies wandering around. We backed the truck up to the door, leaving just enough space to swing the doors open and load the supplies. I got out of the truck and peered into the door. It looked relatively safe but you can never be sure. The doors were locked so we were going to have to figure out how to open them. Just as Wade was about to shoot the door locks I motioned for him to wait while I went to the back of the store to check the loading bays. The bay doors were wide open. I thought about going in and opening the front door but thought better of it. I hurried back to the truck and motioned for Wade to hop in.

"Did you find another way in?"

"Yeah, the bays in the back are open and all we have to do is load up on guns and ammo. Lets make this as fast as possible. We can only get so much stuff in the truck this time. I suggest we load up as much as we can, then comeback later to grab another load."

"Why not get it all now", Wade asked not understanding?

"We don't have the room. All the stuff we brought from the house is still in the truck so we can grab a few guns ammo and essential things but then we must unload all this and come back for more later."

We drove to the loading bays and grabbed our flashlights and guns and ducked under the bay doors. We looked around and scanning the warehouse floor for any signs of the undead but saw only pallets of store goods. Wade made sure the backdoor was unlocked before I began to lower the bay door manually. With the racket the chain and door made if anything was in there it was bound to be coming. We heard the sound of feet hitting the ground hard after the bay door was down. Wade stood halfway out the door checking all directions as I backed my way to him. If there were just a few of them we would stand our ground but if there were more than that we would haul ass out of here. The first one made it around a pallet ten feet away. Wade shot twice catching it in the head and putting it down. Down the aisle in front of us were two more. I waited for them to get closer to minimize the damage the shotgun blast would do to the pallets that were lining the aisle and blasted them both with three shots. The first caught them both in the chest then I walked up to where they had fallen and put a shell in both heads. That was a mistake! I was jumped from the side by a zombie. I slammed into a pallet and ricocheted off it and fell on top of it with my shoulder pinning its head onto the floor with its mouth facing to the side. I shouted for Wade to help but then I heard the sound of the 9mm being shot in rapid succession. The zombie was flailing at me with its free hands but I was off-balance with my shoulder planted into its face. I planted my feet high on a pallet and leaned in more on the zombies head. I pushed so hard that there was a cracking sound and the left side of the zombies head collapsed and black blood and brain matter oozed out of its eyes and the cracks in its head. I quickly got up and grabbed my shotgun and turned around just in time to take four more shots that ended the second life of the last zombie in the storage bay. I quickly reloaded as I ran up to Wade.

"Hmm thought the plan was to run if more than a few came at us?"

"Sorry man, I won't do that again. That almost cost both of us."

Wade nodded and we continued passed the zombie I had shoulder crushed into the floor. We stopped and inspected the body seeing that it had a large key ring attached to its belt. I grabbed the key ring and we continued in checking room after room, crevice after crevice until we were sure it was clear. The warehouse alone was pretty big. The warehouse alone had to be over 10,000 square feet. We walked around the store picking out exactly what we needed at the time before going back and grabbing a pallet jack and empty pallet. We made sure to grab plenty of ammunition for the shotgun, 9mms, and rifle. We also grab three Mossberg 930s, two Remington 887s, shotgun along with five .357s, five Colt 45s, and two more Benelli MR1s. After loading these up on the pallet we wheeled it to the back and looked around the warehouse for anything we might have missed. We checked three more pallets and found suppressors for the rifles and pistols, plus a replacement machete. I grabbed a 45 and Wade grabbed a 930. We loaded both and stocked extra ammunition and wheeled our cargo to the back bay doors. I looked outside the bay and saw nothing walking around so I opened the door and ran to the truck. As Wade raised the bay door I backed the truck closer to the loading dock. We crammed all the guns and ammunition into the truck and locked both doors and headed back to Sam's. As we rounded the corner and was pulling into the front of the store I stopped to radio my wife that we were on our way back. Before I could push the button to talk Wade grabbed my hand and pointed. The look on his face said it all. There were about 200 zombies walking, running and shambling down the road. Luckily they had not noticed us so we waited until they passed before pulling out and heading back to the store. Apparently the zombies were migrating but where they were going we had no idea.

More action next update I promise. I almost have it done just a few tweaks I want to add to it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 8**

**New Faces**

It has been six days since our encounter with the migrating pack of zombies. When Wade and I got back to the store we pulled into the repair bay and began unloading all the supplies we had in the truck. We then began to inform them of everything we had seen while at the store. They were surprised to here that some of the zombies were still capable of running like a living person after weeks of being undead. We made three more trips to the gun store loading up on ammunition as well as any accessories we might need such as holsters, cleaning kits…etc. We then decided that we needed to try to contact anymore people left in the town. The generators in the store worked on natural gas that was still flowing from the plant so we still had power throughout the store.

We still had internet access so we routinely checked news websites and that had live feeds and daily updates. Every so often we used a one of the four radios we had taken from the guns tore and tried to contact more people in the area. We were able to find one family that had a radio. We attempted to get them but came seconds too late.

"Good morning everyone!"

Ericka was such a morning person. She was always smiling when the sun was rising to brighten the world with its rays of renewal. If she had been born a few millennia ago she would have been a sun worshipper. I on the other hand always needed five more minutes and loved to keep a room dark, it just felt more comfortable. I guess that is why we fit together so well. We are two extremes that balance one another.

Maria and Christopher had been on guard duty the night before so it was my turn with Michelle to take up the watch. She and I ate grabbed a rifle each and headed for the roof. Michelle had opened slightly since our arrival here. The tragedy of losing her family was of course still haunting her. As we settled into our routine of checking the streets and surrounding woods for zombies she and I talked about that day when I came to get her.

"Michelle, how are you doing?"

"Fine."

"Look Michelle I know that you are still upset with losing your family, I just wanted you to know that Ericka, Liam and I are here for you and if you will allow us we can be your family."

"Mr. Michaels I just….miss them."

"I know kid, I do too. But you still have us and we will take care of you know matter what. You are a part of our family now and family sticks by one another."

Michelle smiles the first true smile I have seen in a long time.

"Mr. Michaels that last line was kinda corny."

"So I stole it from a few movies I have seen…sue me."

"When you are ready to talk about what happened that day let us know."

"I will Mr. Michaels…I will."

We continued our guard duty chit-chatting and taking out any wondering zombies along the way. The scopes and suppressors we snagged in our trips to the gun store were coming in handy. We could pick them off without attracting attention to ourselves. Michelle was actually a pretty decent shot. It was tough to get her to pull the trigger at first. Which I think is both good and bad. She had to learn to defend herself, but the fact that she was still hesitant to kill was a sign that we all had not become too desensitized with all the killing we had done. As our shift grew too a close we noticed that more of the things had begun to filter down the road going in a general direction, the same direction as the last group that went by. Michelle was about to start picking some of them off before I stopped her. I looked through my scope and saw that the group was made up of runners, shamblers, and walkers. Though some of them looked different and had growths that looked like moles growing on them. I radioed down to the others what I was seeing and Ericka and Maria came up top to see them.

"Where are they going?"

"Hell if I know Maria, they seem to be going in the same direction as the last group."

"Well wherever they are going we better not disturb them. Maybe they will all go that direction and leave us alone."

"Yeah hopefully."

We watched as the long line of bodies walked down the road, all with a single focus and purpose. Were we giving them too much credit and thinking of them still in human terms or was there more to this seeming migration. It took a total of 18 minutes for the group to pass by. Though once they had passed we noticed something was missing from the road in front, all the bodies we had shot. Michelle was the first to notice.

"Mr. Michaels..umm where are all the redead people we shot. There bodies are gone."

I looked through the scope on my rifle and saw that all the bodies were indeed gone. There were stains left on the pavement but the bodies had seemingly been taken.

"Ok this shit is getting too damn weird. The damn things are migrating and now they are carrying their dead….so to speak. We have to find out what the hell is going on."

"And why do we have to do that. I am all for being prepared Aaron but they seem to not notice us so why go out of our way to bother them?"

Though I hated to admit it Ericka was right for the time being. We had not been seen by the passing herd of zombies so why put ourselves in more danger by following them.

"Alright but we eventually will need to figure out what the hell is going on. Because if those things comeback our way in mass we are as good as dead."

David and Glenda (who have become an item) were the next to take watch together so the rest of us went back inside the store to eat and rest up. Liam had been on the computer and motioned us over to him.

"I found someone who is still alive Dad. They are about a few miles away near the lake. They are stuck in their home; it's a kid and his parents. They want to speak to you."

I sit down at the computer and see the face of a very stressed man. The second I sit down he begins talking.

"You have to help us please. We are trapped in our house and they have found us. There are hundreds outside right now and we have no way of getting out."

"Ok, let me see…"

I was tapped on the shoulder by Christopher.

"He said he was surrounded by hundreds of the things Aaron. Do you really think we can get them and us out of there safely?"

"If we pull the same trick we did the last time by having a decoy go in first then pull up in another vehicle and clear out the few stragglers, we can get the family."

I turn back to the man seeing his panic stricken face.

"What is your address and we will come and get you. How many are there with you?"

"There are four of us my wife and two kids."

"Do you have access to a vehicle?"

"Yes we have a SUV and sedan in the driveway but we can't get to them they have it completely surrounded."

"Don't worry about that we have a plan. When we call for you to come out make sure that you run to your SUV and follow us ok?"

"Yes we will just hurry please, they are banging on the doors and I don't know how long the barricades will last."

He gives us his address and we grab an atlas and locate his street. Glenda and David volunteer to make the distraction run while Wade, Christopher, Maria and I load up in the truck. We take two rifles and two shotguns. We take as much ammunition as each person can carry. We also make sure we each have a hand gun and I have my new machete. When we are ready we have Liam and Michelle take out any roaming undead before heading towards the family.

While driving there we see some clusters of the undead but with the suppressors on the rifles we take them out quickly then drive on to the home. When we are about a block away we see that the man was not exaggerating. There were at least two hundred zombies surrounding his home.

"Alright David and Glenda you are up, good luck."

"See you guys back at the store."

With that they drove up to the intersection just behind the mob and began honking their horn and firing a few shots into the horde. Immediately they began to all turn and peel off towards them. We waited until only about 30 or so zombies were left around the home. Wade and Christopher each took a rifle and began picking them off one at a time. Maria and I grabbed shotguns and stood guard around the truck to ensure no unexpected surprises appeared out the houses near by. After Wade signaled the all clear we drove up to the house and honked. About a dozen stragglers came shambling from around the back of the house. We took care of then with rifles and handguns since they all had suppressors and then honked for the family again. We waited and heard the sound of things being moved aside and the front door opening up and out coming the man and his family. We motioned for them to get in their car hen a runner came leaping over the neighbor's fence and sprinting towards the family. I raised my shotgun and shot it directly in the chest taking it off its feet. It fell backwards and rolled to its feet and charged again. Wade put two shots in its head causing it to fall backwards and wheeze as if it was taking its last breath. Then all of a sudden a black mist or cloud was released from its mouth. We all backed away from the cloud that seemed to hang in the air before being carried away from us by the wind (how lucky we were that this happened we would find out later).

The family in the mean time had already run to their car and started it up. We jumped in the truck and started back towards to store.

"You know that Ford Dealership we passed on the way here has a few trucks we could use."

"Umm what is wrong with my truck it is big and can handle any off-roading or hauling that needs to be done?"

"True but another truck would help with getting supplies and in case we ever had to abandon the store. We could carry more supplies."

"True but first how about we take these people back to the store then we can get a plan together for going out and getting more trucks."

We started back towards the store with the family in tow. There was the occasional zombie but we handled them with ease. I radioed that we were heading back when we rounded a corner and plowed straight into a sea of zombies…..shit!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 9**

**Vanderbergs**

"HOLY SHIT, BACK UP BACK UP!"

"I can't the people behind us are in the way."

I slam the truck into reverse and start to hit the gas anyway. The family behind us was at first confused until they see the bodies starting to pile up around our truck. The father starts to immediately back up as are truck is seemingly engulfed by the zombies. They reverse all the way to the last intersection. The fact that so many of the damn things were around the truck kept them from bashing the windows in but their sheer numbers were going to soon crack them. I put the truck in four wheel drive and slammed down on the gas. It started to pick up momentum steadily then it tore out of the crowd. Some of the undead were still holding on as I slammed on the brakes and threw them off the truck. I slammed on the gas again and ran them over and kept going until I hit the intersection. Surprisingly enough the family had not yet driven off. The father was looking at me as I turned around in the intersection and floored it down the road. I looked in the rearview mirror and saw their car following close behind with the pack of zombies following.

"Damn that was too close! Where the hell did they all come from?"

"No Idea but we need to put as much distance between them and us as possible."

"Hang a left here and drive for 7 Blocks then hand another left."

"I see what you are doing if we can get in front of them we can get passed them and back to the store."

"Exactly."

We followed Wades plan and did not run into the mob of zombies again. We came up to the area where the car dealership was located and Christopher asked for us to stop.

"Christopher we need to get these people back to the store now. The trucks are not going anywhere."

"I know this Aaron but part of planning something out is to know what you are going after. There are at least four trucks in there we can grab in addition to yours."

We scouted the car lot from the truck picking out the trucks we would take with us and then sped off to the store. A few zombies followed us back to the store but we easily put them down before pulling into one of the service bays.

"Welcome back guys and welcome to the warehouse new people!"

I kissed Ericka, Liam and Michelle and made sure the family inside got situated in the store. The family's name was the Vandenbergs; George, Katherine, Robert, and Ellen. The man was a doctor before the outbreak (A plus for us, now we had an actual doctor that could tell us what to do with all the medication in the pharmacy). We let them clean themselves up as we explained what happened to us as to rest of our group. Once we got to the part of running into another pack of zombies they all seemed to visibly get anxious.

"Ok we know these things are moving in groups and in a general direction but I can not for the life of me think of why they would be doing this."

"Maybe it's the fire that we had to run from that is driving them this way" Ericka proposed.

"While that does make sense it does not explain the picking up of the ones we shot as they moved on the other day. I really want to find out what is going on. If we don't we may end up paying for it."

"Before we go any farther in to that plan we have other things we need to do first like check on that family we rescued and see if they need anymore help."

The Vanderbergs were sitting in the furniture aisle pulling out mattresses and linens for them to sleep on. I could not fault them for wanting to do this. This is probably the first time in days that they have had almost complete silence and not the non-stop moaning the undead do. I motioned for everyone to stop and turn around so that the family could get some rest. We would speak to them after they were more able to converse. As I was walking away George held up his had motioning for me to stop as he walked over to me.

"I really would like to thank you for what you guys did for us. You risked your lives to help us and for that I am eternally grateful."

"It really is no problem. You needed help and we were in a position to help you so it is really ok. Now you guys need to get some sleep. You are safe here."

With that we shook hands and George went back to his family and lay down. We on the other hand knew that with mobs of undead wandering through our area we would need to reinforce our position so we all sat down and started going over plans.

"We are going to need to plan on staying here for the long haul. This building is pretty secure but we need to build some type of barrier between the store and the surrounding area."

"That is all well and good but where are we supposed to get the materials from and how are we going to be able to move it, Aaron."

"Well, David, while we were out getting the Vanderbergs I saw some construction yards with heavy equipment. Plus the internet is still up so let's see about what we can find in the way of building materials and such. We should also look for State, County and City road depots. They have those concrete dividers that we can use also."

"What happened to your plan of heading towards Pensacola Naval Air Station?"

"With the streets full of those things out there it would be foolish of us to try to make a run for it. Besides we have plenty of supplies here."

After few more minutes of discussion a rough plan was starting to take shape about what we could and could not use to build a barrier for us and the immediate surrounding area.

I jumped on the internet to find out where materials could be located. After using Google I was able to locate more than ten businesses that would have the materials we needed. I printed the addresses for all the places out and went over to Wade who was finding all the heavy equipment companies in the area. This was going to be a slow process but if we could pull it off we would be far safer.

Michelle and Liam were always on the internet or listening to a CB radio that Christopher had in his car. We had heard intermittent talk on the different channels but they were mainly people that were driving through only a few sounded like they were actual people that had been able to find a place to hold up and survive. We would speak to some of the truck drivers but any information we got from them was pretty dire. We actually heard the dying screams of one man that had stopped to pickup a family only to have the mother die and turn on him. She ended up slaughtering the entire family also. We began to also plan another weapon supply run to the gun shop on 8th street in Ocala and also by the Ford Dealership to grab a few trucks we had seen. As much as we did not like it Liam and Michelle were going to have to travel with us to ensure we had enough guns in each vehicle. We planned to make the run in three days but in the mean time we continued to plan how much of the area we would barricade and call our own.

On the second day of planning the Vanderbergs began to relax a little more. They ate and cleaned themselves, and grabbed a new set of clothes. They told us how they were originally at the Ocala Regional Medical Center because they had been trapped there when the city was placed under martial law. They were on the 10th floor when all hell broke loose in the emergency room.

"We had planned on going out of town for the weekend. My wife had come by the hospital with the kids so we could go to Ocala State Park for a camping and hiking. We did that as often as possible because I was on call at the medical center so often. I was just about to leave when we got a bus full of injured people from a local high school football team. I thought there had been an accident or something but the wounds these people had were bites. Some people were missing whole limbs as if they had been gnawed off. One woman was crying and shouting "It bit them off!" When I looked at her hand it was a bloody stump. All these people were immediately wheeled into our emergency room and any other open rooms."

"Where was your family during all of this"?

"I told them to go to my office on the tenth floor. I still planned on leaving when we had this situation under control. I had not spent an entire weekend alone with my family in months so I was going to do my best to salvage this trip. Though what I did not know was that we were not going to get a break in influx of patients that night. This all started at around 5:30 pm. I did not see my family again until 12:15 am. I walked into my office and found them all asleep. I woke my wife up and let her know that we had been placed under quarantine in the hospital and that the National Guard and CDC were here. That o course did not sit well with her but I told her about the people that were dying from their bite wounds even the non-fatal ones. Others that had more life threatening bites were slowly succumbing to an infection despite the use of antibiotics. The morgue was filling up fast and we had to start placing people into empty rooms. Though the fact that the National Guard and CDC was there had me thinking this was no ordinary disease that was being reported on in the news. I told my wife to stay there while I went back to the emergency room to check on some patients. I stepped out of the room and headed for the elevators. As I rounded the corner the elevator opened and out fell a car full of people. They completely engulfed a nurse and doctor that had been waiting and started ripping them to pieces. I luckily was not seen at the time and ran back around the corner to my office. I ran in and woke up my kids and told them all to put their shoes and jackets on. My wife asked me what was wrong but then we heard gun shots from the streets below us. Taking that as our cue we went to the door. I peeked out of it to see if they had made it as far as my office and luckily they had not. I grabbed my wife and kids and started leading them to the stairwell. We came to the T-section were the stairs were located and looked down each corridor before heading to the door. As the door closed we heard the shrieks and snarls of the people that had killed the doctor and nurse. We ran down the stairs as fast as possible, we had no way of knowing if they could open doors at the time so we were running down the stairs as fast as possible. We got to the third floor before we saw some of those things running from the first floor stairs."

"All those poor babies George", Katherine begins sobbing.

"What is she talking about George, what about the babies" I asked?

"Our medical center is the primary neonatal hospital in this area."

"O no." Gloria said behind watery eyes.

We all knew then what caused Katherine's tears. The zombies had made it to the third floor and attacked every person from newborn to adult.

"We knew that the zombies were on the floor, we could hear them but they were so busy...eating… that we were able to get by them to the freight elevator. I pushed then button and waited for it to come down. These elevators were for hospital personnel only. We waited as it came down to our floor and made that god awful dinging sound. That alerted all the infected people on the floor to where we were. Luck was still with us at the moment as we got in the elevator and rode it to the basement parking deck and got out of there. We have been at home ever since trying to survive. The only reason we were found was because I fell down the stairs and knock over plant. But there again you guys saved us so I am thankful for the help."

After hearing their story we ate and finished planning the first of many supply runs we would make to ensure that we could survive the epidemic. Though what we did not know was that we would be leaving this place we had found sanctuary in the not too distant future.


	11. Chapter 11

**New Information **

We have been on generator power for the last week. Zombies have been banging at the front doors or milling about the front parking lot for 11 days. We have new arrivals at the store that are a little run down but are doing ok except for one. The group was trying to hold up in a home in Cape Canaveral. They were running low on food and water and made a do or die run through the city in a five vehicle caravan, only now there was just one truck. They had loaded all their remaining supplies and started out through the city until they got to I-95. As they got the Volusia County area they were forced to cut through Deland and basically follow the same path that we had taken. They decided to try their luck at refueling in Palatka, and got mob by a few hundred zombies. The only vehicle to make it out was their lead vehicle which was a custom made F-650. A beast of a truck that had enough horse power and weight to allow them to smash their way out of the horde and reach our area. We made contact with them when they sent an S.O.S out over the radio. No one else in the area responded (wise on their part) but us. We gave them directions to the store and prepared for their arrival. They had picked up quite a following as they came barreling down the road and into the Sam's parking lot. We were up on the roof and directed them to the back of the store as we started firing into the crowd that they had brought to us. Christopher, George, Robert and Ericka were waiting for them as they pulled in and drove up to the bay doors. They horde had just gotten to the front of the as they were getting out. Liam, Michelle, and I thinned them out as much as possible before they got to the back of the store. The new people had all gotten out of the truck and into the store except for one, he was pulling at a bag in the truck that was stuck.

"Damn it Randy, leave the fucking bag we can get it later", yelled the female driver of the truck.

"Are they inside the building yet", I asked?

"All but one Aaron, he is trying to grab a bag that is stuck….wait he's got now and is running up the ramp to us" , Ericka said sounding relieved.

Though by that time the front of the horde had made it to the back and were almost on top of the man as he ran up the ramp. We shot and shot trying to hit the zombies hitting all but one. He tackled the guy just as he neared the door and slammed him into the railing. Christopher and George stepped out the door with Remington 930's and unloaded into the nearest zombies as Ericka pulled out a .357 and placed three shots into the zombie that was trying to bite the struggling man. Luckily all the shots hit the intended target knocking him off the man but not before he spit out a black cloud that coated the man's face. The man was able to get up and make his way into the warehouse and proceeded to collapse on the floor exhausted. Robert and Christopher slammed the door shut and locked it.

"Welcome to Sam's" Ericka quipped as everyone of the new arrivals started laughing and crying. They were just relieved to be somewhere relatively safe. I climbed down off the roof once I saw they were inside and that is when the man that had gotten spit on collapsed and started convulsing. He began foaming at the mouth before finally stopping and lying unconscious.

Robert moved to check on the man but one of the new arrivals shouted "STOP! Don't touch him or you will be infected too."

"What do you men infected too, he was not bitten" Robert stated skeptically.

"You don't have to br bitten now to be infected by them. That stuff he just got spit on to him causes you to change now he is as good a dead or undead as it is now."

And with that she walks up to the man and puts a bullet into his head.

"What the hell?"

I raised my rifle was well as everyone else. We had them surrounded and outgunned but they were not about to surrender. We stood that way for 15 seconds before the woman lowered her 45.

"We have seen this happen to many other people back when there were 33 of us survivors. It is a painful way to go, it is worse then the bites. He did not want to become one of them so I just made sure that I kept my word to end it for him if he could not do it himself", she said.

With that she laid down her gun and the others with her did like wise. I lowered my rifle as did all the others.

"We need a place to stay to regroup them we will be out of your hair. We were headed to Eglin Air Force bas as it has been broadcast that it has been reclaimed by the military. Give us a few days to catch our breath and we will make our way there."

"You are welcome here…?"

"Robin"

"My Name is Aaron. Robin you and your six companions are welcome to rest here as long as you need to. We have plenty of food and water and even power. So get some food rest up and we will talk later once you are ready. Also, take your guns with you no one here walks around with out one."

The new group consisted of four women and two men and the recently deceased man. We wrapped his body and drug him to the roof and tossed him over the side. We made sure we wore protective gear such as glove, masks, and safety goggles before wrapping the body in a plastic tarp and securing it with duct tape as we hauled it to the roof and tossed it onto the side of the building that had no zombies around it. We sanitized the area where he laid and stood with bleach after we were done. I walked to over to the new group and got their story of how the had gotten stuck in Cape Canaveral and made the decision to head to Eglin. The worst part of the tale was Palatka, most of their crew was killed at the gas station they stopped at.

"The horde came at us from every direction. There some that moved fast others were extremely slow and some of them had growths while others did not. I have no idea what causes these mutations but whatever it is they are becoming more dangerous with each mutation."

"Well we are glad you guys made it this far and we will share what we have with you. Also, don't think that what you did back there is going to make us think less of anyone of you. Like you said you have seen things we have not and we are just going to have to trust one another. We are few of the living souls left in this part of the state."

The next 11 days consisted of us clearing out the area around the building and getting the new people settled in. The group had decided to stay thinking that there was no way they could make it all the way to Eglin if they couldn't even make it to Silver Springs without losing over half their original group. We welcomed them and they started to work right away. There seven people total Robin (42) who was an engineer for NASA, Trent (25) was an electrician, Ben (45) who was a farmer, Susan (31) a housewife, Gerald (38) a chemical engineer for NASA, Delilah (26), a police officer, and Wendell a welder that worked for NASA. The only person that seemed to be having a hard time with the new people was Wade. He had become increasingly difficult and distant. He had severe mood swings and was constantly sweating and just couldn't keep still. Then it all came to a head one day when it was his turn to take watch up on the store.

"Everyone has been on watch Wade and now it is your turn."

"I said I was not going to do it and you can not make me. You don't own me man! Hell we were here before you brought your black ass in here, we let you in, so you should do what we say right Christopher?"

"Wade, man what is up with you? You have been a walking around here acting like an ass for the pass few weeks. And no I nor do any of the others agree with you. Aaron and his family have helped out and risked just as much if not more than we have to keep this place safe and secure."

By this time I had already had it, I was moving towards Wade now to put him straight. Before I could do anything though Gerald, one of the new guys came up and asked Wade point blank, "When was your last fix?"

"What do you mean my last fix? I am not a crackhead, I don't use shit!"

"You have all the classic system fidgety, irritable, nausea, sweating profusely…anything I miss?"

"Fuck you and everyone that came with you I am not a junkie."

"Yes you are Wade, and you need to realize that you are not going to get anymore that stuff is gone now."

Glenda said this as she walked up to him and took his hand. He snatched his hand away from her and stared at us shouting and screaming about how we were all now against him and how Glenda had betrayed him.

We did not need this drama right now. We are still surrounded by zombies and we have a million other things to do before we can call this place completely safe. I knew the only way for Wade to get through this was for him to continue to detox here in the store but we had to get his gun away from him before we could do that.

I walked towards him and he immediately went for the .357 he carried with him. Everyone but me reflexively went for their own guns. Wade began to look around at all the faces surrounding him and began to panic even more.

"I am not a junkie I can handle it. You think that I am like all those other crackheads walking around doing whatever they can to get a fix? Huh? You guys had no idea anything was wrong with me until this bitch opened her mouth."

"Wade!"

Right at that moment Wade was shot with a taser and dropped like an anvil to the floor. I then saw Robin standing behind him with the gun in her hand. Wade began to struggle again but she zapped one more time and he stopped moving and just whimpered on the floor. We grabbed some zip ties and bound his hands and feet and moved him into a corner room until later. Glenda sat in the room with him for the time being.

"We do not need this shit right now. We have enough to worry about without having to watch as a guy goes through detox. Did anyone else know about this besides Glenda", I asked?

"None of us did Aaron. This all news to us as well", Maria answered.

"We still have to plan our next run to the gun store as well as build a more secure wall around us. Damn we don't need this right now."

"You have more help now Aaron, baby we can still do this even with Wade being out of it for now."

"I know Ericka, I know. We just need as many hands as possible to get it all done and without Wade that just makes the process that much harder."

"With all the talented people we have here now Aaron we can figure this out no problem," Gerald added.

"Ok then first things first we need to finish clearing out the outside of the store then we can began blocking off roads and cleaning up the surrounding area."

Everyone present nodded and we all grabbed rifles with suppressors and headed to the roof to quietly clean up the yard.


End file.
